ArtByKristyParma

Born & raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin, I always had a love for drawing. My love began when I was in 2nd grade. There was a famous commercial for a fast food place and in that commercial there was a man that said some sort of slogan and always said it waving one of those pointer sticks. In class, I ended up drawing the man from that commercial and it resembled the man quite a bit, so much so that my teacher had showed the class my drawing and acted out the commercial, it had everyone chuckling. The fact that I had drawn this guy to be recognizable was a proud moment for me.

Growing up, my grandparents always had an endless supply of paper that I found myself using quite a lot of it to practice drawing. I drew everything that interested me. My first official art class was specifically in oil painting that I had signed up for in middle school. This opened up doors for me and made me fall in love with painting just as much as I loved drawing.

High school, I took all the art classes I could, expanding my knowledge as well as learning to experiment in new mediums such as watercolors. I loved sitting in class experimenting and learning new techniques. My teacher (the best teacher any artist could ask for) had mentioned how watercolors are ‘my medium’ that it fit me just as I fit them and I believe she was right.

In the years following I have been doing all sorts of drawings and paintings for people, murals on walls, paintings/drawings on stone, getting photos from people and drawing/painting exactly what I see. Many people have commented on how beautiful my work is and ask why don’t I do this for a living? My answer always was that I wish I could. Art is my passion and I would love to sit and paint or draw all day long. I am juggling work, kids while trying to pave the way for my dream to come true.

Not only do I love working on my own originals, I also love looking at photographs and turning them on to canvas or paper. It’s a challenge to get my art to look like photos, but that is what I love about it. The more realistic the painting or drawing is, to me, is a success. Being able to express a personality or emotion on canvas is a beautiful thing to view and that is what is so gratifying to me.